"Our hearts are desperately wicked, folks, and if there is a way out of something, we will take it."
[This message is part of a series through the book of 1 John, entitled "Salvific Assurance Through Testimony," preached by Pastor Senter].
Last week we looked at a couple of rather difficult verses. We found that we are certainly not perfect, nor are we supposed to be judgmental ; but we are supposed to be on our guard. We are supposed to support our brothers and sisters above all. We are supposed to pray for them and help them through their difficult times. We found that if we witness someone committing a sin, and we know that they know the Savior, regardless of how it may “appear” we are to pray for them and ask God to grant them life in their situation. We found that the only sin that does not lead to “death” is the sin of a believer. We found that the only sin that results in “death” is the sin of denying Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Son of God. What we learned was that some people just need prayer in times of strife and struggle. This should not be a time where prayer for salvation is warranted; in fact, regardless of the situation, your soul is confident that is not what is required. Instead, we should support one another in prayer when our brothers and sisters are faced with these great difficulties and confrontations take place in life. There is nothing that says we should not be passionate in our defense of the faith, there is everything that should say we should be loving and determined in our response, especially where a brother or sister in Christ are concerned.
Please look at 1 John 5:18. Today we see John reviewing the basic premise of the epistle. We will support him in this summation by following exactly what he is saying through this epistle as he tells us what we should “know.” We also find here John’s final assault on Gnosticism in this epistle. He again pushes the issue that our spirit’s relationship with God is paramount.
Invincible – when you are young it seems to mature people that young people feel this way. However, as a young person, you really do not think you are indestructible, you simply do not think about the consequences of your actions. Honestly, if we considered “what if” for everything we ever attempted, we would probably just do nothing. What if they don’t like me? What if it is not true? What if I am not smart enough? What if I am rejected? What if it is too cold? What if…. Every “what if” question begs an answer. Every answer provides more fodder for “what if.” What we need to concentrate on then is what we know. What we need to consider is concrete facts. What we need to do is look at the things that are “set in stone” so to speak, and provide for us truth in living and life. This is what John opens with in his discussion here. Those living in the truth and being of God are protected from Satan. You might ask, What happened to Job then? I thought he was “a blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8). No one can claim to be as blameless as Job, and yet you know what happened to him. Satan certainly touched Job. In fact, you could easily say that Satan hit Job pretty hard. We will explore how Satan is kept from touching us.
John also makes a statement in verse 19 about knowing we are of God and knowing where the world resides. We should gain an appreciation of what John is attempting to say here too. We find “know” mentioned three times and “the evil one” mentioned twice. We should ask, How is the Holy Spirit using these two words and what do they mean? Is this actually a reference to the Devil, or does “the evil one” mean something different?
In verse 20, we receive a testimony of various pieces of knowledge. We should break down this verse carefully and discover what it is that John is teaching us when he says, “Son of God,” “Him who is true,” and then, “His Son Jesus Christ,” all in one pregnant verse. What we have to consider is what John is saying to the Gnostic, what is he telling the intellectual. We will find that there is instruction for every sinful person in this complex message. Our hearts are desperately wicked, folks, and if there is a way out of something, we will take it. These lessons, right at the end of this letter, should be great warning beacons to us. We should see ourselves headed for the rocks and these verses are the lighthouse that is about to save our very lives. We had better grasp the fact that our “spirit knows truth, but only within the Lord; all other spiritual claims to truth are temptations of Satan. You think the discussion about spiritual as opposed to intellectual truths gives you license to live an existential life, but it is only knowledge of Christ that gives real spiritual truth.“
Before we get into the serious heart-wrenching and introspective truths, how about a little encouragement?
I. Secure in Him (verse 18)
The first issue we have to tackle then is this first verb – “know.” This is our word “oida,” and we find it used three times in these four verses. Marshall says this is a state of knowledge. [1] Hiebert calls this an intuitive knowledge that we have.[2] This is the spider and the web issue. How does the spider know how to spin the web? He just knows. In this same way, we know our sin status (verse 18), we know we belong to God (verse 19) and we know the Son of God (verse 20). All three words are the same. They are in the perfect tense, which indicates an activity that is completed or is in a state in perpetuity. It is also in the active form and the indicative mood. The active form is simply something that is seen as taking place. The indicative mood is a statement of fact. John has been specifically talking about believers in Christ Jesus since verse 13. This has not changed. He is still specifically addressing brothers and sisters in Christ, and he is saying it is a fact that we know. Our knowledge came to us some time in our past, but from that moment forward we know. We have known and we will know because we know right now.
When we consider this passage, we are struck by John’s absolutist conditions. In this verse, we find that those who are born of God do not sin and that those born of God are kept by God. The term for “keep” has a military connotation that indicates a guarded or protective attitude.
We can then turn our attention to the word translated “born” and find this term is unique in its usage. The word means to give birth, to bear, and to be the father or mother of someone. It can also be translated with cause. For example, “We bear the pain of our sins,” or “I can only bear so much pressure.” What we find is that this word is used in the perfect tense by John (as it is here the first time in verse 18 ) very consistently indicating believers. In all John’s writings, when he discusses individuals “born of God” and the word “born” is in the perfect tense, it indicates believers. The second time this word appears here is the same word and we find it translated “begotten.” This word is in a different tense which gives strong indication that this is not a believer, this is the Messiah. This one “begotten of God” then is the Son of God Himself.[3]
We should also consider the word translated “the evil one” and what it indicates. There are essentially two words that describe Satan in Greek. They are “poneros” (our word used here) and “diabolos.” Where the word “diabolos” means “accuser,” the word “poneros” actually indicates an individual or being that is essentially evil or personifies evil.[4] We find this old serpent referenced twice in these passages (verses 18 and 19).
Does the old serpent lose all power over us when we are saved? Are we no longer susceptible to sin when we receive Christ? We just studied verses 16 and 17–and talked about believers sinning. What is this we read now that believers do not sin?
A. Sinlessness
If there ever were a group of verses in scripture that can be completely misconstrued and misunderstood it has to be these by John. Folks, if John in one sentence says that believers can sin, and in the very next sentence seems to say that our spirit knows that those people cannot have really sinned (after all, they are saved), then there is something we are missing. This should bring us back to 1 John 3:6 & 9. Our spirit, the Holy Spirit within us gives us the capability of sinlessness, this is true. However, we still have a carnal heart. If we were to take this passage as license to sin, we fail God miserably and seek no further sanctification. We know that we face these doubts and temptations though. When we give in to them–which we all do at times–we sin. However, this section of scripture is dealing with the overall condition of the individual. It is not a recipe for living life in the moment. When we are born in Christ Jesus and saved from our sins, we are seen as sinless before God . When we are saved and Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account, we are sinless before God the Father. John is reviewing chapter 1 verse 7-9 here. We are supposed to be walking in the light of Christ, not in the darkness of the world. If we are truly Christians, if we truly want God to save our souls, if we really respect His salvation, then, when we accept Christ as Savior, we will begin a new life (2 Cor 5:17). The world is darkness; we are supposed to walk in the light of Christ Jesus when we accept Him as our Savior. Being clothed in His righteousness, we are sinless before God.
Are you exhibiting a life that is sinless before God? Does your daily life show that the Son of God has given Himself for your eternal life? Do you exhibit the salvation of Christ in all you are and all you do?
We also have a protector in our salvation. Our lives are being filled by a new spirit, our bodies are being occupied by a sinless Spirit, and our salvation is being maintained by a sinless Person.
B. Keeping sinlessness
If we turn to Jude 21, we find essentially this same phrase. The one who is saved and in a sinless state before the Father, then, is encouraged to keep himself that way. Unfortunately, for man this is an impossible task and therefore we have one who can maintain Himself sinless before the Father, for our salvation. We work to maintain the relationship that protects our eternal life; but our only hope is to have Christ who needs nothing to maintain His sinless perfection before the Father. Just as Jesus, therefore, did not act as the Pharisees, we are commanded to not act as the worldly, but act as a child of God. There is a term for those individuals who act and look like worldly individuals. They are worldly. We find evidence of Christ’s efforts to guard our sinless state in John 17:12, where He guarded them and not one perished. We also look to 1 Peter 1:5, where those in Christ are protected by the power of God, and Jude 24, where Christ is able to keep you from stumbling. Jesus is the one keeping us from sin. Common-sensically, if we then walk in the world and only give God what we choose to give Him; simultaneously we actually know He is doing everything in His power to work on our sin-filled state. What we do then is take salvation and His sacrifice for granted. We claim the light but walk in darkness (1 Jn 1:6).
Therefore, we should not endeavor to look or be like the people of the world. We should endeavor to be godly, to be Christlike. Since 1 John 2:6 tells us that if we say we live in God, then we should walk in the same way God walks. 1 John 2:15 and 16 tells us that we are not supposed to love the things of this world. God does not love the things of the flesh, the lust we have for those things, or the boastful pride we can have in ourselves. If we strive to look like the world and the things of the world, we love the world. If we strive to have all the things of the world we can have, we love the world. If we strive to only please the people in the world and care not for the Father and His desires, we love the world. 1 John 2:15 says that, “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
We are commanded in Jude 21, to keep ourselves in His love and wait with excitement for Jesus to return. This is a glorious position to be in. We should always live in expectation of His return. In John, since he focuses upon salvific assurance through testimony, we find Him stating evidences of our salvation and asking us if we are doing the things that testify of our expecting to meet Jesus at any moment. When we are born of God, we are kept by Him through our relationship in Christ Jesus. We are kept through our testimony. We should be stricken when we know we are rebelling against the Savior and not testifying of Him in all we are and all we do.
God, who keeps Himself sinless for us, keeps us sinless in this process. Being mindful of our relationship with God in Christ Jesus, and striving to honor this gift, is how we focus upon improving our lives in Him. When we take His salvation for granted, when we choose to adopt worldly behavior and sinful activity in our lives, we step out of this protection.
If we, then, work through Christ to maintain our relationship with God, if we seek His counsel and His salvation, and walk in His light–then Satan also has no effect upon us.
C. Untouchable
The word translated here as “touch” has a much stronger connotation that what appears. It actually indicates grasping or taking hold of someone with the intent to do harm. The issue, as it is so often, is not physical but spiritual. Satan may be given permission to affect your body, your family, your job, or any other thing in your life; however, your soul belongs to God. Satan is unable to touch your soul; he has no control over your eternal destiny. By being born of God in Christ Jesus, you have taken upon yourself the only Person who has ever defeated Satan: the Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You are untouchable; you are free from the sting of death (Hosea 13:14; 1 Cor 15:55-56). You are no longer a subject of the Law in conviction; now you are a subject of Christ the Son of God in His Kingdom, set free of the bondage of sin. Satan has no further power over you. Under the law the accuser can no longer speak reproach against you. As he stands against you, Christ stands between Satan and the Father. The relationship is complete, now Christ only asks that you recognize this gift in your everyday activity.
If you are free, if you are untouchable, if you are given purity that you can keep, why are you so focused upon destroying everything about God in your life? You are untouchable concerning your eternal life, why do you act as though this world then means so much to you?
We should be acting as though we know other things in our spirit too. We should understand and recognize that without Christ, we would never have had this opportunity.
II. Vulnerable without Him (verse 19)
We know that we are from God; we know that the whole world is opposed to us and is within the power of Satan. Why then are you so focused upon pleasing these people by becoming more like them? Why do you commit the sins they do? Why do you have to fit into their lifestyles? Why do you have to endeavor to be more like them if they are tools of Satan? Why would you, a Christian, want to appear to be a tool of Satan in any fashion? If you know that you are of God, and that the world is opposed to all that God is, why would you participate in the things of Satan’s world?
Do not permit yourself to be used as a tool of Satan. Every activity you endeavor, every reaction of your life, every thing you choose to wear or do for and with your family should speak directly against Satan and the things of this world.
Let us break this down some. We should get some specific applications out of this verse.
A. Believers
Ladies and gentlemen, we have the most perfect and excellent proof that we are of God – because we do not do the things that are in this world. If we react to situations like worldly people, we are worldly. We should react as Christ might react, then, to the situations that are presented to us. Instead of anger at someone or something that insults our intelligence or our ego, we should submit and humble ourselves to the moment and individual involved. Arrogance is for fools who consider themselves the authority (Prov 14:3). These people speak as though they know, yet they are no more knowledgeable than any other, and many times less so. Believers are first humble, admitting they cannot get to eternity without assistance. They should also admit they cannot exist without Christ’s assistance on this earth. The God Who permits you eternal life with Him also provides for your every breath in His thoughts (Col 1:17). The believer then takes every opportunity to show their love of Him by not being part of this world, and instead separating from this world as completely as possible. We seek to look different, act different, and be different. We do not seek to blend in, but to be noticed for the Christian that we are. We do not talk to people using foul language–not only is it specifically demanded in scripture, it is worldly in nature Ephesians 4:29. Believers need to communicate in the language of scripture, talking scripture, speaking the words of God to others (2 Cor 12:19 & 1 Thess 5:11). We should not use the world’s language, which involves spiteful, corrupt, prideful, and hateful communication. We should run from this, deny our ears to even hear such language, and not condone use of this language wherever we are. Believers are supposed to be light shining a lamp upon the dark evil corrupted activities of the world.
Folks, you, in many ways, are supposed to be the “goody two-shoes.” Do people change when you enter the room because you are recognized as an individual who does not appreciate the talk around the water fountain? On the other hand, do people treat you just as if they treat anyone else in the world, talking foully around you, discussing inappropriate things with you, asking you to perform or do inappropriate, or unlawful things? If people treat you as a worldly person, it is because they see you as one, folks; and it is not just because they are that way – it is you and your lack of testimony.
What of these unbelievers then? How are we to understand them, and what are we to do with them?
B. Unbelievers
The second part of this verse plainly states that this whole world, as Clark puts it, “is embraced in the arms of the devil, where it lies fast asleep and carnally secure, deriving it’s heat and power from it’s infernal fosterer.”[5] Every unbelieving heart on the planet therefore, is under the specific control of Satan who teaches them to care for their own hearts and care not for others. Look at today’s egocentric society. The divorce rate climbs regularly because people are concerned with their own happiness instead of taking happiness from serving another person.
Abortion is one of Satan’s greatest deceptions in personal attention. We have a world today that cares more about an individual who can think for themselves (but chooses not to) than an individual who is unable to even be heard, but would clearly not want to die. Women seek abortions because of embarrassment, inconvenience, and convenience. Some find killing another a way to avoid being embarrassed by their own promiscuity. Others see the child as an inconvenience in their lives, their career, or their lifestyle. Yet others find this the easy answer to rectify a “mistake” or just in order to maintain their reprehensible personal habits, ambitions, and promiscuities. Whatever the reason, Satan has these folks focused upon, “it is all about what I want,” and that is just where Satan wants them.
A great form of self-absorption is the “fame” spotlight. Every person is vying for his or her 15 minutes of fame, regardless of the cost. They will begin shows about themselves and put cameras into their own homes because their other careers are failing. They love the spotlight; therefore, they will do anything they can to get in front of the camera. The amazing thing to me is that people actually watch these shows. If you were to watch any of these shows, the longer they are on, the more racy they get because life in general is boring. It is rather ironic that some people have such boring lives that they would be entertained to watch others go through their boring life. These “reality” shows are also in competition with other programs to get better ratings. Writers regularly chance the risqué to get just one more point in the Neilson ratings. Anyone who does anything to have themselves specifically noticed in the world falls into this category: children who seek attention from other classmates at school, others who seek to fit in, or look for ways to “not look weird” or “not look boring.” Extreme sports competitions that unsafely stretch the physical limits of the body (playing chicken as adults) are another example. These attitudes all fit in these categories too. Once again, any efforts we make to be specifically noticed are worldly because that is exactly what everyone in the world tries to do every day – get noticed – it is all about “ME.”
John is essentially saying, though you live here in the world, you are of God, from God, and should be living for God. Your life should reflect these simple truths in all you do. You should not look, act, think, play, sing, or in any way resemble the world. You are a child of God.
Why do we know that we are supposed to act this way, be this way, change to live this way? Because the truth is in Him.
III. The truth of Him (verse 20)
First, we know that Jesus Christ has come and when He was here, He was different from everyone else. He treated people differently; He did not operate as a man, but as the Godman. Though we are not God, we are called to be Christlike, love as Christ loved, change to His image, receive one another as Christ received us (Rom 6:4; 12:2; 15:7). We are supposed to imitate God (Eph 5:1). We are not supposed to be imitators of Satan. He gave us this understanding, and the understanding of Himself. Whatever Satan would do, in other words whatever the world would do, we are not supposed to be doing. This is the truth in Him and the truth in His word. This is what we know through the Son of God who gave us this understanding. He gave us these great differences so that we could know that it is true. Just as Jesus did and acted and was the Father (John 14:9), children of God do not act like children of Satan. It is that simple. Can each one of you say that the truth of God is so much in you that if anyone sees you they see the Father? That, folks, is being Christlike. The truth then is that Christ is in you, and you have His salvation, which provides eternal life. This truth is in you because it permeates from your very being, it is seen in all that splendor that is your life. Your life, like Christ’s, is bent upon servitude, humility, submission, and love. Can people, therefore, say that they see Jesus in you? This is how we know we have Him and eternal life.
Does the world see Christ in you – really?
What idols are being discussed here then? If all this is about our testimony, if all this is about our not being worldly, what idols are we to avoid.
IV. The strength in Him (verse 21)
Tell me, whom would you like to be when you grow up? I know a young man who wanted to be Alan Trammel. Alan Trammel was a very famous Detroit Tiger. This young man very much wanted to be like him. He loved baseball, and the Tigers, and he wanted to be like the famous Alan Trammel. This young man had a great Dad, a great Mom; but he wanted to be like Alan Trammel. He played like him, he studied him, he looked at all the moves Trammel made, and attempted to be like him. This is an idolization folks. Whom in this world do you want to be like? Is there some person on this earth you are striving to imitate? “If I could only be like such and such.” “If I could only do this like that person.” “If I could only…” idolize another person on earth. This is what John is warning against. Do not covet the things of Satan’s domain folks. Do not covet other Christian’s testimonies. The definition of this word “idol” is an object, person, animal, or another god. It can be anything from a specific dollar amount to the latest hairstyle or keeping up with the Joneses. The word “keep” here is different from our other word. While the word “keep” in verse 18 is a matter of guarding something as in protection, in verse 21 this term means to guard against, to attempt to prevent, to place things in order so that you actively make this idolatry impossible. Make specific and distinct efforts to keep yourself away from this activity.[6]
Once again then, looking at the focus of the message, and considering the environment that people who received this letter are confronted with, we find another answer. People naturally flock to success; we are drawn to people who appear smart, assuming they know best. We want to find leadership, we seek people to guide us, and smart people normally know best. These Gnostics were intellectuals. They studied Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, which means they were perceived as being wise people. Simple people normally want to see this guidance in life. John is saying do not idolize these people, because, regardless of what they appear to be, regardless of how smart they may seem, they are lost, worldly, and under the control of Satan. Do not idolize them.
Actively take part in separating from ungodly idolism and move to only emulate one Person: Christ Jesus.
Let me conclude by summarizing this lesson for today. We first learned that we know in our hearts that we are secure in Christ, in His salvation. We also learned that to God we are sinless because of this existence within Christ. We are charged, therefore, to be mindful of our responsibility to honor Christ’s sacrifice and focus upon Him every day giving thanks in all we say and do. When we operate, therefore, within this Christian state we find that we are untouchable spiritually (Jam 4:7). Conversely, as we seek to be more like the world we are increasingly susceptible to the temptations of Satan. Believers display a godlike appearance; unbelievers display a worldly, self-centered appearance. You have to ask yourself, “Do I live, therefore, in the truth that I know in my heart about Christ and His salvation of my soul? Alternatively, do I try to live in the world, continually seeking to look like the people of the world to be accepted?” You are encouraged, therefore, not to be like the people of the world and not to seek to be like them or idolize them in such a way that the things of the world replace God in importance.
What is your choice? Do you submit to being different, to look as though you do not belong and therefore accept any persecution that may come your way? On the other hand, do you want to have an easy life and just do and look like everyone else around you? Will you make a brave stand as Stephen did? Or will you go along to get along, and take on some of the worldly attributes regardless of how it affects the way people see your relationship with God? Which will it be? Stand for God and look to be more like Jesus–or look like every other peer you have in the world? What would God have you do?
[1] Marshall, I. Howard, The Epistles of John, Eerdmans: Grand Rapids. 1978, p. 251.
[2] Hiebert, D. Edmond, The Epistles of John, BJU Press: Greenville 1991, p. 264.
[3] Ibid, 265.
[4] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Editors, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, United Bible Societies: New York 1989 2nd ed. Electronic text hypertexted and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc.ver. 3.6 – can also be translated ‘the Evil One, He who is evil.’
[5] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Public Domain, Derived from an electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library http://www.ccel.org, Formatted and corrected by OakTree Software, Inc., Version 1.0
[6] Louw & Nida – 13.154.
Comments